The Binocular Telescope: DIY Rally 2007, Part 9

Our readers can—and do—build it all, and Dan Duriscoe's 250x magnification from recycled car parts and street signs isn't the half of it. We've been saluting one of the top reader projects of the year each week at PopularMechanics.com, so zoom in on the plans below, then check out the rest!

As a teenager in the 1970s Dan Duriscoe was inspired by astronomer John Dobson, who was then gaining fame for making telescopes from found parts. More than 20 years later, Duriscoe finally cobbled together his own creation, on a massive scale. He scrounged most of the parts for a binocular telescope that's 7 1/2 ft. high and 4 ft. wide, and boasts a 74-in. focal length and primary mirrors that are 12 1/2 in. wide.

Duriscoe, a member of a National Park Service team that monitors light pollution, works in Death Valley -- an unbeatable place for watching the skies. He forged the support structure from discarded aluminum park signs; you can still read the descriptions for landmarks such as Glacier Point, Castle Rock and Mount Whitney. The differential gear carrier from Duriscoe's old '69 Ford Bronco supplies a friction-free pivot for the two scopes. He custom-ordered the eyepieces and six mirrors (two of them weigh 20 pounds each and are 2 in. thick). The view is like gazing out the window of a spaceship, Duriscoe says. "You can see the waves of turbulence in front of the moon."

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